My father loved to fish. He fished with poles and nets. He had spent a dozen years in the U.S. Navy before and during World War II, so he knew a lot about what was in the waters of oceans and seas. I grew up on the Gulf Coast as a child and was always amazed at how he knew exactly where to drop or throw his pole line, or where to cast his net. We ate a lot of fish in my youth because he understood what was in the water.

My idea of having fun in the waters of bays and the Gulf was to swim and surf. I was what you might call a ‘surface’ person when it came to being in the water. It was after learning how to scuba dive and going deep below the surface that I learned about the dangers that lurked only feet below the surface.

Surface Christians

That’s how I view many Christians and church leaders today. They are ‘surface’ Christians – sometimes known as ‘nominal’ or ‘cultural’ Christians. They look at the surface of Christianity and think it’s about being happy and successful. Unless they learn how to ‘spiritually’ scuba dive, they may never see nor understand the dangers that lurk just below the surface. That includes knowing the true heart motives of church leaders.

Only God can judge because only God knows what’s in a person’s heart. In Luke 16, Jesus told the Pharisees – “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 44 that God “knows the secrets of the heart.” God told the Prophet Jeremiah – “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). In Acts 15:8-9, the Apostle Peter wrote that God “knows the heart.” In Romans 8:27, the Apostle Paul wrote that God “searches the hearts” of His people. God told the Prophet Samuel that He – “does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Whether you read the Old Testament or the New Testament the outcome is the same. People see the surface, but God sees far below the surface. That’s one reason why we should trust God and depend on Him to guide us in how to ‘swim with sharks’ –

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

We trust God rather than our own heart. People today love to say – ‘just follow your heart’ – not realizing the deceitfulness and wickedness of their own heart. Why would anyone want to ‘follow’ after something that is filled with deception and wickedness? That seems like a type of ‘spiritual suicide.’

Sharks Near Our Hearts

Because God knows people’s hearts and that they are ‘deceitful’ and ‘desperately wicked,’ the Lord has kindly told us what’s in our hearts. These are some of the ‘sharks’ swimming nearby that want to ‘have you.’

The largest and most dangerous ‘shark’ we have to deal with in this life is SIN. The first time ‘sin’ is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 4:7. God used the word חַטָּאָה (chatta’ah) when He told Cain – “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Sin, which is missing the mark God sets as His standard, has a desire (תְּשׁוּקָה, teshuqah – ‘a longing’), and that desire is for you. Cain didn’t listen to God’s advice and murdered his brother. The ‘sin shark’ got him and destroyed a family.

The Bible is our guide through dangerous waters. God shows us how other people have tried and failed to navigate the waters. He also shows those who struggle, but are able to make it safely to shore by following His spiritual guidance. Many people think of God’s Word as a list of rules that exist only to take the ‘fun’ out of this life. They are surface swimmers. They have no idea what dangers lurk just below the surface.

I promised to begin naming some of the sharks that are swimming with us, so let’s begin in the Old Testament –

  • worship of false gods (idols)
  • using God’s Name in vain (empty, lightly, foolishly)
  • blasphemy
  • not honoring your mother and father
  • anger
  • temper
  • jealousy
  • violence
  • murder
  • rape
  • adultery
  • prostitution
  • bestiality
  • stealing
  • lying (bearing false witness)
  • not loving your neighbor
  • oppressing a neighbor
  • coveting a neighbor
  • pride
  • arrogance
  • slander
  • perverting justice
  • drunkenness
  • kidnapping
  • lack of mercy
  • flattery
  • discord
  • hatred toward others
  • gossipping
  • disobeying God’s Laws (including Levitical Laws – clean and unclean foods, physical cleanliness, etc)
  • homosexuality
  • sodomy
  • divination
  • soothsaying
  • consorting with ‘familiar spirits’ and ‘mediums’
  • witchcraft
  • child sacrifice
  • bribery
  • desire for vengeance
  • contention
  • cursing (God, parents, rulers, etc)
  • greed
  • sexual impurity
  • laziness
  • murmering
  • rebellion
  • stubborness
  • not helping widows and orphans

This is not a complete list, but gives us some insight to the ‘sharks’ swimming nearby that want to harm us.

Here is a short list of ‘sharks’ from the New Testament that can do serious damage to a Christian –

  • denying Christ
  • hatred for God
  • hatred for people
  • desire for vengeance
  • judging other people
  • not doing good to others
  • hatred toward others
  • lying
  • bearing false witness
  • gossipping
  • boasting
  • brawling
  • murder
  • stealing
  • complaining
  • unforgiving heart
  • envy
  • quarrelling
  • ready to fight
  • lust
  • sexual immorality
  • homosexuality
  • fornication
  • foolish behavior
  • foolish talk
  • selfish ambitions
  • heresy
  • sorcery
  • witchcraft
  • speaking idle words
  • hard-hearted
  • impure thoughts and actions
  • deceit
  • drunkenness
  • rioting
  • lack of faith
  • disobeying parents
  • fathers provoking children to wrath
  • extortion
  • greed
  • trusting in riches
  • enjoying the company of sinners for the purpose of sinning with them
  • hypocrisy
  • idolatry
  • not doing what you know is the right thing to do
  • not helping widows and orphans
  • pride
  • boasting
  • false humility
  • loving self over others
  • causing strife
  • mocking others
  • murmering
  • slander
  • unthankfulness
  • breaking promises
  • contradicting wholesome teaching
  • adding to the words of prophets and apostles

Again, this is not a complete list from the New Testament. You can read more about the ‘sharks’ in the water with you in these and other passages of Scripture –

  • Romans 1:18-32
  • 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
  • Galatians 5:19-21
  • Ephesians 5:3-5
  • Titus 1:10-16
  • Jude 1:3-23
  • 2 Peter 2:1-22
  • 1 John 2:1-29
  • Revelation chapters 2 & 3
  • Revelation 22:14-15

[Podcast version of this study coming soon.]

Next Time

‘Thoughts’ lead to ‘beliefs’ which lead to ‘behavior.’ In the next part of our special series, we’ll look at some of the ‘thought sharks’ swimming too close for comfort.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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